Category: Salvation

Our Savior…


Sometimes it seems that our world just flies off on a tangent that has no relation to the reality in the world but only in the mind of those who are loudly blasting it on the Internet or in the news media. It especially happens during election years depending upon the “news” that is being shotgunned everywhere.

Although, if you are a Christian, you know Who is in control of it all. God is never on the sidelines and He never loses sight of what is happening here on Earth and in each of our lives. I mean if He keeps up with the little sparrows then He can surely keep up with us as well. Jesus said that “even the hairs of your head are numbered”, so since God’s knowledge of us goes that intimate don’t you think that He truly cares for you? Because He does!

In the book of John, Jesus is referred to as the Living Word and He is. He is also the embodiment of God in human form so that He could come and reconcile us to Himself. Jesus fulfilled every prophecy from the Old Testament about the Suffering servant and the Son of God and every other reference to Himself found there. No other human could do that if He were not God in human form. The celebration of Easter is coming up soon and many people will celebrate it with candy and egg hunts and some will even give presents but this is not the reason we celebrate it nor should it be.

Easter fell during a celebration of First Fruits in Israel since Jesus was the “first fruit” to be raised to life eternal. Read the account of His resurrection in Luke and then His ascension to the Father in the first chapter of Acts. Read these accounts and learn more about our risen Savior because He is coming back!

Your identity is in Christ


There are many scriptures that cover this subject for believers and the list is a little long but each of them tells us who we are in Christ.

  • You are His special possession (1 Peter 2:9, Deut. 14:2)
  • You are chosen, picked by God Who created everything (Jeremiah 1:5, Eph. 1:3-4)
  • You are treasured (Deut. 7:6, 14:2, 26:18)
  • You are irreplaceable (1Thess. 1:4)
  • You are loved (1John 4:19, 4:10, 3:16, Rom. 5:8, 8:35-39)
  • You are worth dying for (John 3:16, Rom. 5: 7-9)
  • You are forgiven (Eph. 1:7, 1 John 1:9)
  • You are His child (1 John 3:1, Gal. 3:26)
  • You are secure (2 Cor. 1:22, John 10: 28-29)
  • You are set free (Rom. 6:18, Gal. 5:1)
  • You are precious to Him (Isaiah 43:4)
  • You have been set apart (John 15:16-19, 1 Pet. 2:9)

Why do I go to the trouble of listing all of these for you? Because it is needed and necessary. Because if anyone is in Christ He is a new creation and you need to know where you fit into His Kingdom. You can’t learn this in Sunday school and many churches don’t teach this to new believers, they just baptize them and put them on the roll for the numbers.

The problem is that most of us never hear about our identity in Christ until many years down the road and we really need to hear it as soon as we are brought into the family of God. The church has dropped the ball, so to speak, in the decades since prayer was taken out of schools and we truly need to pick it up before it is too late. In some areas of our country, it may already be too late.

We have our salvation when we believe in Jesus as our Savior and repent of our sins but we need to be taught about Him and our identity in Him because the more we know about Him, the better we will know Him. In many religions, your identity is in the religion itself but our identity falls in two places. One of those places is that you can claim your Christian identity as a follower of Jesus but your real identity is a bit deeper than that if you are planning on growing into your faith which all of us are expected to do. We aren’t supposed to remain as “babes in Christ”.

If you are a new Christian or if you are curious about becoming one, look these scriptures up online or in a Bible if you have one. Read them and ask God to show Himself to you and show you His love for you because it is found in every Scripture that is listed above. Let me know how it goes and keep seeking because you will find your answers in Jesus Christ.

What kind of mask do you wear?


In our societies all over this world we are afraid of a virus and it’s “offspring” so we wear masks to protect us from them. But have you ever considered the kind of mask that we wear around each other because of religion? Our religious masks make us seem to be “Christians” so we pull them out and wear them on the days that we feel like it such as on Sunday morning or Easter or Christmas but when we leave the company of those we are in at those times we take the mask off. We are ashamed of being identified with Jesus Christ outside of church so we remove the mask and just be ourselves until we either need God’s help or we feel like being a “christian” again for a time.

What will this mask accomplish? Nothing for your eternal salvation that’s for sure. It will only make those who know you feel that being a Christian is useless and hypocritical because it isn’t real. That is the way the world looks at the church and Christians in particular because of Who we claim to believe in and follow. This mask of religion has changed the view of those outside of the church because of this. Religion doesn’t save you.

The mask of religion makes us look very convincing as a Christian but our heart hasn’t been changed! Because with the mask of religion on we haven’t really given our heart to Jesus Christ! Why? Because, like the Pharisees we don’t think we need salvation nor do we need Jesus Christ. This mask causes many people to think that they are saved and that they are Christians but in truth it is a lie of Satan. He knows it and he laughs about it every Sunday in church.

So, how can we get rid of this mask and become Christians for real? First, we have to admit that we need Jesus Christ as our savior and then make Him to focus of our daily lives. Seek to follow Him in prayer and study His Word a little every day because if we don’t we will be living a lie to the outside world and to God as well. We will be behind the mask all over again. What difference does studying God’s Word make in your life and mine? Because it gets your mind and heart in tune with God and His voice so that whenever He speaks to you one day, you will know Who is speaking!

The closer that you draw to Him through reading His Word the closer He will be in your mind and heart to give you strength and purpose to serve in His Kingdom here as well as into eternity. The words that you read in the Bible were inspired by God’s Holy Spirit so they read your spiritual condition while you are reading them. They will be there in your mind when needed even if you haven’t “committed them to memory”, the Holy Spirit will bring them to your mind when you need them. I pray that all who read this may feel the love of God in their hearts and turn to Him and His Son, Jesus Christ, for salvation. Amen

What can we do?


Jesus did all of the work for us to have salvation, so what can we do? We really don’t have to do anything except to believe in Him and His provision for us through that belief because with faith coupled with our belief in Him our salvation is given to us by the grace of God. After we are saved there are many things that we can do regardless of the attitude of some that Christians have all of these rules and are just very boring. Compared to what we did in our “old life” without Christ, whatever that may have been, it could be boring to your friends from that time. After your heart has been changed by the Holy Spirit you no longer need to do the things that you did before. You may not feel like hanging out with your old friends but you will have new sisters and brothers through Christ in a church near you. Join a Bible study and learn more about your risen Savior that provided you with this gift of salvation. Study your Bible each day and learn about how much you are truly loved by God, the Creator, and the Sustainer of the universe. Imagine being loved by the One Who created you to be who you are and Who knows you far better than anyone else.

The Savior and God of all keeps every part of you and the world around you together and working for your blessing and for His glory. Every part of the universe is held together by His will and for His purpose just like we are. The Bible, God’s Word, is full of all kinds of stories about loss and pain, love, anger, regret and yet He can guide you through them all if you will let Him.

God blesses us even in our trials


When you are tested, seek the Lord ask Him for strength. He will bless you and take you through your trials no matter how much it may hurt. You will come through this stronger in your faith and even more able to stand when another trial comes.

Perspective


What is your view of the world? That is your perspective, your perception of things and all of the stuff that is happening around you in the world. So, do you look around you with eyes that see a world that God made for us or do you see dirt and grass and bugs and trees that just popped up from a single cell billions of years ago?

To me, it would take far more faith to believe in a naturalistic, evolutionary worldview than it would to believe that God created it all and made it perfectly for humanity to live. But…that’s just my perspective. To give you a perspective of how small we are in the “scheme” of things, take a look at this picture below.

These trees are alive and growing and have been for a very long time. There are mountains and oceans and canyons which also set our perspective in a way that we look very tiny by comparison. The aorta of a blue whale, for example, is almost big enough for a man to stand upright inside it. There are so many different ways to look at the world to see the wonder and majesty of God’s creation.

I pray that you will seek God for your Salvation through His Son, Jesus. Learn of Him, read His Word and become an adopted son or daughter.

There is joy because of one sinner coming to Jesus Christ


I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. Luke 15:7 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/luk.15.7.KJV

Be still…


God is the Creator but He is also the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, so He is our Father too when we come to know Jesus as our Savior. Seek Him today because there are surprises in store for those who refuse.

You are my Strength


Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord , my strength, and my redeemer. Psalms 19:14 KJV (https://bible.com/bible/1/psa.19.14.KJV)

David wrote this and it was his prayer to God that He would accept David’s prayer and give him strength for this endeavors. He also recognized God as His redeemer and Savior. God has been watching over the entire world for a very long time. He loves the Jewish people but He also loves us as well. God gives us the blessings of life and the freedom to choose to follow Him and be His servant if we choose to but many people don’t choose to be a follower of Jesus. Some because they are enslaved to another religion and some simply because they don’t believe the Bible is true and they don’t believe in God.

We have a Sun that isn’t unstable so there’s a blessing right there. We aren’t too close to it so our summers aren’t too hot and our winters are bearable as well. The gravity of Earth is perfect for us so everything good about this is influenced by God’s design of it all. Even the outer planets tend “guard duty” for us against any comet or asteroid which might want to wander in at an angle which would bring it toward Earth.

Our solar system is balanced so that every part of it is doing God’s work in keeping it balanced according to God’s design. So why can’t we look at the night sky and realize that God’s handiwork has been declaring all along that His hands designed everything that we see? Because mankind doesn’t want to see God’s hand in everything. They don’t want to believe that He is in control of everything in the universe. He has control but He doesn’t force His control on us, especially in regards to our belief in Jesus. Yes, He wants us to come to know Him as our Savior but God also knows that not everyone will. The evidence is here on Earth and in the heavens. It is in His Word and in the lives of those who do believe in Him. Seek Him while He can be found because one day soon it will be much harder to come to know Him.

If you want to know Him read the book of John then read the book of Romans, both will give you a picture of Him and His love for us and the reason why all of the disciples were martyred to the last man except for John. There have been many millions killed because of their belief in Jesus over the past two thousand years which is proof that it is true because nobody would die for something that they thought was a lie.

What if?


In the story of Job, he went through some terrible hardships because God wanted to show Satan that His servant was faithful no matter what. God blessed Job with twice as much wealth and gave him a good long life after he proved his faithfulness through his trials.

My question is what if we had to endure trials like he did? Could we persevere and last with our faith through the loss of wealth and family the same way? I’m not sure how many Christians could do this. I’m not sure that I could do it. But…God doesn’t require this of us. All that we have to do is seek to be forgiven, realizing that we are sinners and are in need of a Savior. Granted we will not be given over 170 years of life like Job was just because we come to salvation through Jesus Christ but we will be entered in the Lamb’s book of Life. We will be granted a home in Heaven where all believers will be one day. This is a greater reward than anything we could have or imagine having on Earth and worth more than any amount of wealth as well.

Many Christians in America and Europe have never experienced persecution like those in Russia or China and in some Muslim controlled countries but even this will change one day. The Tribulation will soon happen. I can’t tell you when but after the church is taken to Heaven the world that most people know today will change and it won’t be in a good way. It may not be too bad for the first two or three years but not long after that things will turn much worse. Read the book of Revelation if you want to get some idea of what is coming because God’s Word is true!

I pray that whoever reads this post and searches for the Truth will seek Jesus Christ as their Savior before the events of Revelation begins. Seek to know Jesus and repent so that you can be saved from the hell on Earth that is coming.